Evidence of Darkness

by J L Walker

  “Do you know how long she intended to stay with you and Mr. DeWald?”

  “Not too long. Maybe a month or so. She just started a new job, so she was looking for an apartment.”

  “Did you ever ask her to leave?”

  “No! She’s my daughter. She could stay there. I told her that.” Mrs. DeWald glanced over to Adele as she answered with a defensive tone to her voice.

  Adele frowned and shook her head slightly.

  “Mrs. DeWald, how would you define Mr. DeWald’s relationship with your daughter?”

  “Cordial. They got along okay.”

  Reesa retrieved the Sog Force six-inch steel knife in the sealed evidence bag and held it up.

  “Did this knife belong to your husband?”

  Mrs. DeWald glanced at the knife. “Yes. It was his fishin’ knife.”

  “Did he ever wear the knife? Other than when he went fishing?”

  She shook her head. “No. He kept it hidden in our closet – on the top shelf. He had a big tackle box he’d put it in.”

  “Did the box have a lock on it?”

  “Yes.”

  “To your knowledge, did Mr. DeWald keep the tackle box locked?”

  “Yes, he did.”

  “So, no one else had access to the knife?”

  “No. He only got it out when he went fishin’, then he’d put it back.”

  Reesa returned the knife and walked back to the witness stand. After questioning Nora DeWald for another hour, Reesa looked at the clock on the wall. She wanted to get one more bit of information presented before the judge adjourned for the day. She knew Mahoney would object to any mention of the sexual assault charges filed by LeeAnn Wilde in 2007, so she had orchestrated her questions carefully to expose the information to the jury.

  “Mrs. DeWald, do you know who LeeAnn Wilde is? Now, LeeAnn Wilde Adams? I need to remind you that you’re under oath.” Reesa’s eyes pierced through her waiting for her response.

  She nodded and answered quietly. “Yes.” Her eyes darted to the side, opposite from the jury box.

  Reesa knew she was going to have to force the information out of her.

  “Was LeeAnn related to Mr. DeWald?”

  “Yes.”

  “How was LeeAnn related to Mr. DeWald?”

  “She was his stepdaughter.”

  “Okay, so she was his stepdaughter from his first wife?”

  “Um, no, I think it was his second wife.”

  “Oh, okay. Do you know how long Mr. DeWald was married to LeeAnn’s mother?”

  She shook her head. “No, but I don’t think it was very long.”

  “Did Mr. DeWald ever tell you why their marriage dissolved?”

  “I remember him telling me when we first met that his wife disappeared, just took off, shortly after they were married and he never saw either one of them again.”

  “Do you know what year that was? When his wife and stepdaughter disappeared?”

  Nora thought for a moment, then shrugged her shoulders. “I’m not really sure. He said it was a year before we met, I guess that would make it 2007 or 2008? He wasn’t very specific. He didn’t like talkin’ about it, so I didn’t pry.”

  “Did Mr. DeWald ever give you any type of explanation of why his wife and stepdaughter left?”

  Nora looked around the room and tipped her chin down. “He told me she had an affair. You know, he said she was kinda slutty. I think she had a boyfriend or somethin’.”

  Reesa took a deep breath. “Mrs. DeWald, were you aware that LeeAnn Wilde filed sexual assault charges against Victor in 2007? They fled to St. Louis because your husband raped her.”

  Mahoney bolted out of his chair. “Objection, Your Honor! Hearsay! Those charges were dropped. There was no evidence that a rape had ever occurred.”

  “Sustained,” Regnier bellowed.

  Reesa was smirking inside knowing he had to have known she would bring this up. She glanced over at him and his eyes were throwing daggers at her. Attempting to conceal her grin, she glanced at the judge. “That’s all, Your Honor.”

  Nora grabbed a tissue out of her purse and started dabbing her eyes in an attempt to keep her makeup from running down her face.

  Judge Regnier glanced down at Nora, then adjourned for the day.

  Once the court was in session Tuesday morning, Regnier looked at Mahoney. “Would the state like to cross-examine the last witness?”

  He quickly answered, “Yes, Your Honor.”

  After Mrs. DeWald took stand and was sworn in, Mahoney immediately stood up, notepad in hand, and walked up to the witness stand. The devious smile he had on his face when he anxiously affirmed his desire to cross-examine Mrs. DeWald, faded into a somber expression as he approached the stand.

  Once he was standing in front of her, he looked down and slowly shook his head. “I’d first like to say that I’m very, very sorry for your loss, Mrs. DeWald. It must have been extremely difficult to lose your husband. You have my sincere condolences.”

  “Yes, it’s been very difficult. Thank you, sir,” she replied as a tear trickled down her face.

  Mahoney reached in his pocket and handed her a tissue. “When was the last time you saw your husband alive, Mrs. DeWald?”

  “Around two o’clock on August 4th.”

  “Two in the afternoon?”

  “Yes. That’s when I usually go to sleep.”

  “And how did he seem to you that afternoon?”

  “He seemed fine. Everything was fine.”

  “When did you find out that your husband had been murdered?”

  “I got a phone call from the hospital while I was at work. It was a little after two thirty in the morning.”

  “On the morning of August 5th?”

  “Yes.”

  “Did the hospital employee who called you notify you of his passing?”

  “Well, no. They said he’d been taken to the ER with stab wounds. After I got there, they told me he had passed away.”

  “How did you respond to the news?”

  Mrs. DeWald looked shocked. “I was devastated. How do you think I would respond? I had just found out I lost my husband!”

  “Again, I’m so sorry for your loss. I’m sure you loved him very much.”

  “Yes, I did. Thank you,” she replied, sniffling.

  “Did anyone else reside in the home with you and Mr. DeWald?”

  “Like I said before, just my daughter. She was only stayin’ with us until she got her own place.”

  “Okay, so just the three of you lived at your home at—” He flipped through his note pad and read, “1101 E. 92nd Street, is that correct?”

  “Yes.”

  “So, only the three of you had access to the knife that was used to murder your husband, is that a fair statement?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Mahoney shook his head and chuckled. “I love to fish. There sure are plenty of great places to fish around here too. Did Victor do much of it?”

  Mrs. DeWald smiled. “Well, yes. Especially after he lost his job. He’d usually bring home several huge bullheads and fry them up. It helped feed us all you know. He did what he could.”

  “So, did Victor ever go fishing while your daughter, Ms. Castillo was residing with you?”

  “Yes, he did.”

  “So, he would have had his knife out when he returned home with the bullheads. He would have had to clean them, and perhaps filet the fish with it, correct?” While he talked, he smiled and his hand made the motion of filleting a fish with a knife.

  Mrs. DeWald shrugged her shoulders. “I guess so, yes.”

  “So, when was the last time Victor fried up some bullhead for dinner, Mrs. DeWald?”

  Nora glanced down and cleared her throat. When she looked back up, she was fidgeting with the tissue in her hand. “He…Victor made bullhead for lunch…the day…he died.”

  Mahoney paused and looked through his notepad again. It was obvious he was just doing it to let Mrs. DeWald’s comme
nt settle in with the jury.

  “So, the knife wouldn’t have been locked in the tackle box all day. Is that a fair statement?”

  “Yes, but he was very care— ”

  He cut her off mid sentence. “Well then, Mrs. DeWald, when you testified yesterday, you stated that your husband and Ms. Castillo ‘got along okay’ is that correct?”

  “Yes.”

  “Would you go as far as to say they were close?”

  Mrs. DeWald appeared confused. “I don’t know. Maybe. They seemed to be getting along better since she’d been staying with us.”

  “That’s nice. Mrs. DeWald, had you ever, in the timeframe of your marriage to Victor, suspected the defendant and your husband were having an affair?”

  “Objection! Misleading question!” Reesa spouted.

  “Overruled. I’ll allow,” Regnier replied.

  Mrs. DeWald glanced toward Adele and quietly responded, “No, although I thought at one time she may have had a crush on him.”

  “That’s all, Your Honor,” Mahoney said curtly, then returned to the prosecution’s table with a smug grin on his face.

  Reesa felt her blood pressure rise and looked over to Mike. He scribbled something down on a piece of paper and shoved it toward her.

  She glanced down. It read, “Not good. I’d like a chance to redirect when you’re done.”

  Reesa was ready to jump out of her seat and charge up to the witness stand when Regnier called an early lunch break. She was disappointed she couldn’t proceed with what she knew could be the most important part of Mrs. DeWald’s testimony.

  After the jurors were escorted to the jury room, Mike and Reesa retreated to Judge Amelia Diaz’s chambers to review their notes and determine how to best proceed in light of the incriminating testimony of Adele’s mother.

  An hour later, they resumed their seats at the defendant’s table. Reesa knew she needed to clinch the last part of Nora’s testimony. It would probably be her last opportunity to make Victor DeWald’s historical escapades known to the jurors.

  She felt restless as Judge Regnier entered the courtroom at returned to the bench. After flipping through the documents in front of him, his eyes rested on the Reesa. “Would the defense like to redirect?”

  She quickly stood up. “Yes, Your Honor.” Reesa walked toward the witness stand reminding herself to remain calm and be professional, even though every cell in her body wanted to run to the stand, forcibly remove Mrs. DeWald from her chair, throw her on the floor and pelt her until she was unconscious.

  “Mrs. DeWald, you stated before the lunch break that you felt Adele may have had a crush on your husband, but would it be a more accurate statement to say that you feared he might have actually harbored a secret romantic interest in her?”

  Nora paused and looked at daughter. Adele’s eyes appeared to be pleading with her.

  Reesa held her breath, waiting for Nora’s response. If she didn’t confirm her suspicion, it would be nearly impossible to proceed according to plan. Feeling the need to prod further, she stepped closer to the witness stand. In a sympathetic voice, she said, “I know it’s a heartbreaking thing to comprehend, isn’t it, that your husband may have desired another woman. Especially when the other woman is your own daughter – your own flesh and blood.”

  Mrs. DeWald looked down in her lap. When she looked up, there were dark stripes trailing down her face. Her tears had gathered remnants of her caked-on mascara and streaked down her cheeks. Her lips were trembling when she quietly answered, “Yes.”

  Reesa paced slowly in front of the witness stand to give Mrs. DeWald a few minutes to regroup before the incursion of Victor’s sketchy past. She waited until the courtroom was quiet and all eyes were on her, then she slowly turned back toward Mrs. DeWald. In her calmest voice, she asked, “Mrs. DeWald, were you aware that two statutory rape charges were filed against your husband in the nineteen eighties?”

  Mahoney stood up so fast his chair almost fell over, causing a loud screech. “OBJECTION, YOUR HONOR! Ms. Collins is trying to inflame the jury!” Mahoney’s face was beet red and his hand was fisted as he glared at Reesa, leaning forward as if he were about to run over and punch her.

  Reesa quickly responded, “Your Honor, I have documents referencing two separate charges of statutory rape that were filed against Victor DeWald in 1984 and 1986 in Pinal County Arizona.”

  Mike had the documents in his hand and stood up to present them to the judge when Mahoney spouted, “Your Honor, the victim’s criminal records are inadmissible!”

  “Sustained,” Regnier stated, rubbing his forehead.

  Mike returned to his seat, dropped the document on the table, and shook his head. They were both hoping to expose the jury to at least a few facts about the incident before getting shot down by the prosecution.

  Reesa scowled at Mahoney. Her contempt for him was mounting as she slowly turned back toward the witness stand. She felt like he might explode if she didn’t proceed with at least one of the questions Mike had so carefully scripted for this witness.

  “Mrs. DeWald, do you know how many other women Victor DeWald may have raped?” She knew she had crossed a line, but she didn’t care. Her heart was beating fiercely in her chest, and her fists were clenched as she awaited Mahoney’s next outburst.

  He bolted out of his chair. “OBJECTION!”

  Before Regnier could respond, Reesa stated smugly, “I’ll withdraw the question, Your Honor.” Then she turned back toward Mrs. DeWald. She knew Mike was probably chomping at the bit to redirect, but she felt compelled to present one more question to Mrs. DeWald. She looked at Mahoney from the corner of her eye. As if taunting him, she turned to Mrs. DeWald and with as much compassion as she could muster, leaned in towards her. “Mrs. DeWald, did Victor ever rape you?”

  Reesa just got the question out when Mahoney jumped out of his seat again, shaking his head. “OB-JEC-TION! She’s badgering her own witness!”

  Mrs. DeWald looked down and started crying. The microphone intensified the sound of her sobs, resonating throughout the courtroom.

  Judge Regnier removed his glasses. “Ms. Collins, if you continue with this line of questioning, I will place you in contempt of court!”

  “I’ll withdrawn the question. I have nothing further, Your Honor.”

  As Reesa walked back toward the defendant’s table, she tried to guage Mike’s expression. She couldn’t tell if he was upset with her for proceeding, or if he was elated and attempting to conceal his excitement; but, she felt confident she had at least raised a concern about Victor DeWald’s unsavory past in the eyes of the jurors – even if it may have been at her own expense.

  Judge Regnier sighed, then looked at Mahoney. “Would the prosecution like to recross?”

  Mahoney was looking down at the table while tapping the eraser of his pencil on the table. “No, Your Honor.”

  17

  TESTIMONY OF ADELE N. CASTILLO

  It wasn’t until Wednesday, the second week of the trial that Adele was finally able to testify. The court had just returned from lunch recess, and Reesa was relieved that the rape of Adele Castillo by Victor DeWald, might finally be made known to the jury. Mahoney had raised objections habitually during previous testimonies, so she anticipated a struggle, but was determined to have as much information brought out about the incident as possible.

  She had been diligent about meeting with Adele over the past few months to pose potential dialogue scenarios in an attempt to insure the jurors understood exactly why she had feared Victor DeWald. Reesa just hoped she would be able to remember everything they had discussed while under the immense pressure of sitting in the witness seat.

  Adele appeared nervous and timidly glanced up at the people in the courtroom as the bailiff escorted her to the witness stand.

  After she was sworn in, Reesa approached her and smiled in an attempt to make her feel more comfortable. When their eyes met, she prayed Adele would be able to convey to the jurors the exact same sto
ry she had recited to her on numerous occasions. “How old are you, Ms. Castillo.”

  Adele’s leaned up to the microphone. Her voice was trembling when she answered, “I’m twenty-six years old, ma’am.”

  “And how much do you weight?”

  “I weight about one hundred eighteen pounds.”

  Reesa turned toward the jurors. “I’d like to remind everyone that the coroner testified last week that Victor DeWald’s weight at the time of his death was two hundred seventy three pounds. The math is simple, Mr. DeWald was considerably more than twice the size of Ms. Castillo.”

  She paused, then looked back towards Adele. “Your mother stated you had been staying with her for approximately two weeks prior to Victor DeWald’s death. Is that correct?”

  “Yes.”

  “And can you restate for the court why you were staying with your mother and Mr. DeWald?”

  “I was livin’ with my boyfriend, Lenny, and he beat me up. He almost killed me the last time. I had to leave really fast and that was the only place I thought I’d be safe.”

  “How long had you lived with your boyfriend, Lenny?”

  “Almost five years.”

  “And how many times, in your estimation, had he physically assaulted you?”

  Adele looked down as if she were ashamed, then quietly responded, “Probably over two dozen times, ma’am.”

  “Why did you continue to live with him?”

  “I was scared to leave. He told me he’d kill me if I left. Plus, my mom wouldn’t let me stay with her then and I had no place else to go.”

  “What made you finally leave Lenny after five years of his abuse?”

  “My mom finally said I could stay with her until I could find somewhere else to live. I had just found a job, so she knew it wouldn’t be for very long.”

  “Did you feel you’d be safe there – at your mother’s house?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why did you think you’d be safe there?”

  “Um, ‘cause Victor had a reputation, you know, of being sort of a bad ass. People were afraid of him. Nobody messed with him. I knew he’d beat Lenny up if he came over or tried to find me there. They couldn’t stand each other.”